CHAPTER7
Online Experiments
It is unlikely that cable TV, telephone lines, and microwave links will serve to deliver information from remote databases to the consumer.
—Bill von Meister, founder of The Source
The Source and CompuServe were watching each other carefully. CompuServe watched as The Source tried and failed to sell small networks to businesses (its Professional Exchange program). Scratch one idea. The Source didn't take the hint from CB Simulator and Forums, which set it back competitively. Then both companies tried to broaden the market base by selling the one thing most potential customers didn't have: a computer.
Actually, they would offer individual terminals, dedicated computers that did one job—communicate online. The Source ...
Get On the Way to the Web: The Secret History of the Internet and Its Founders now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
